Bantams Overcome Ephs 17-13 with 2 Fourth-Quarter TDs

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Trinity College (2-0) overcame a 13-3 fourth quarter deficit with two touchdown passes from Ryan Burgess '13 to AJ Jones '14, to down Williams (1-1) 17-13. Burgess and Jones teamed up for the two aerial scores in a 5-minute span.

Williams opened the scoring in the game with a touchdown run by Marco Hernandez '14 with 3:19 remaining in the first quarter. Junior quarterback Adam Marske '14, had connected on a 16-yard pass to senior tight end Sam Krieg '13, nearly sending him to the end zone. Hernandez then capped off the 92-yard drive with a 1-yard rush. After a successful PAT from Joe Mallock '14, the Ephs were on top 7-0.

The Williams defense then forced Trinity into a three and out after a Jack Ryan sack and an emphatic tackle by Emmanuel Whyte of the Bantams' Evan Bunker. "Jack was a presence today," noted Head Coach Aaron Kelton. "It reminds you that when you're on the field, there are no freshman."

The Ephs then upped their lead to 10-0 on a 34-yard field goal by Mallock 45 seconds into the second period.

The Bantams got on the scoreboard for the first time with 9:30 left in the second quarter. A 37-yard field goal by Tim Costello '13capped off a 9-play, 54-yard drive from the Bantams, bringing the score to 10-3.

The final score of the half came on Mallock's second field goal of the game, splitting the uprights from 43 yards out with 3:02 remaining. Mallock's field goal was his ninth consecutive, going back to last season. Williams led at the break 13-3.

The 10-point Eph lead remained intact through the third quarter.

At 14:42 in the fourth quarter Trinity faced a fourth and inches from their own 37. The Bantams went for it. Burgess was successful on a quarterback sneak and the Bantams capitalized n the offensive momentum, fashioning an 11-play 68-yard drive.

Next Bunker recorded a first down for Trinity off a 23-yard toss from Burgess before rushing five yards to Williams 39. Burgess then connected a 12-yard pass to Drew Grombala '13, and Trinity was at the Williams 27. Bunker brought the Bantams to the 22 with another 5-yard run. Burgess had an incomplete pass to Grombala before sending Jones the final 23 yards to the end-zone on a fourth and six. With a successful PAT from Costello, the Bantams had closed the Ephs' lead to three, 13-10. The Bantams' drive was highlighted by two successful fourth down conversions.

Gaining momentum from their touchdown, the Bantam defense forced the Ephs to kick after just three plays. Joe Mallock's 40-yard punt was returned by Evan Bunker, who returned it 22 yards to the Trinity 42-yard line.

Facing a third and twenty from the Williams 45, Burgess connected on a short pass to Jones on the left sideline. Jones stepped inside the Eph defense and raced down the center of the field to score. Costello's PAT boosted to a 17-13 lead.

On the next Eph possession, the Trinity defense swarmed Marske on a third down pass attempt, sacking him for loss of 13 yards and forcing the Ephs to punt. Mallock launched a 56-yard punt to the Trinity 24. The Bantams then utilized their strong ground game to run out the last 6 minutes of the contest.

"We're a young bunch who showed today against a good senior team," said Kelton. "We didn't get first downs when we needed to in the second half and we had too many missed assignments and way too many penalties," he explained. "Things we're characteristically good at, we let slide today, so there were missed opportunities."

The Bantams' ground game was led by Evan Bunker who had 29 rushes for 165 yards, an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Ryan Burgess had 13 carries for 46 yards, an average of 3.5. Marco Hernandez topped the charts for the Ephs, rushing 12 times for a total of 42 yards. Trinity had 261 yards on the ground, while Williams had 39.

The Trinity defense was spearheaded by Nick Campbell and Rob Gau, who both had 6 solo tackles on the day. Chris Cameron and Chris Kim led the Williams effort. Cameron had 8 solos and 3 assists, while Kim completed 6 solos and 3 assists.

Tim Costello was successful on 1 of 3 field goal attempts and 2/2 PATS for a total of five points. Eph kicker Joe Mallock was successful on 2/2 field goals (34 and 43 yards) and 1/1 PATS, scoring 7 points for Williams. Mallock and Costello both completed 4 punts on the day, Mallock for 259 yards and Costello for 203.

"He's the guy who I am the most impressed with today, hands down," Kelton said of Mallock. In addition to making every field goal and PAT, Mallock averaged 43.4 yards with his punting game, with a long of 56. "He did a great job all day and is getting better every game."

Kelton says he looks forward to "bouncing back," next weekend with the Ephs' first away game of the season. They will head to Lewiston, Maine to take on the Bates Bobcats next Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 1pm.